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R E xM A R K S 



HON. JAMES REDINGTON, 



OF ST. LAWRENCE, 



IN ASSEMBLY, ON THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 18, 1863, IN COM- 
MITTEE OF THE WHOLE, 



OV THX 



GOVEENOR'S MESSAGE 



ALBANY: 

WEED, PARSONS & COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
18G3. 






dis.cna&g'e 
Weet. Bee. filst. See. 



REMAEKS. 



Mr. Chairman : 

In justice to myself, I must say my health is 
not adequate to the performance of the duty 
that I have assigued to myself. Under ordinary 
circumstances, and in good health, I am fearful 
that I should TaU far short of what might be 
expected, and certainly far more so when feeling 
indisposed. The Constitution of the State of 
New York makes it the duty of the Governor of 
the State " to communicate by message to the 
Legislature, at every session, the condition of the 
state, and recommend such matters to them as 
he shall deem expedient." Strictly speaking, 
the language of the constitution might be con- 
strued to limit his statements and recommen- 
dations to matters relating solely to state policy. 
But, Sir, considering the intimate connection 
between the state and national government in 
tlie disastrous war that is now upon us, and in 
the unhappy controversy which threatens the 
destruction of our country, it was most certainly 
JKistiflable in the Governor to occupy so great a 
portion of the message in national affairs. 

I hold in my hand, Sir, the message of Gover- 
nor St^ymour to the legislature, and I propose to 
read a few lines from the fifteenth page of the 
message under the head of " causes of the war." 
"Affrighted at the ruin they have wrought, the 
authors of our calamities at the North and.South 
insist, that this war was caused by an unavoid- 
able contest about slavery. This has been the 
sutyect, not the cause of controversy." Now, Sir, 
almost the whole of my remarks will be confined 
to one line of this message. I know full well 
the high position of Governor Seymour, his un- 
bounded intellect, his moral worth and the 
esteem in which he is held by a great portion of 
the people of the state. Yet when I find state- 
ments in his message which are not true (I 
speak this in no offensive sense), which are iu- 
coDsisteut with matters of history, I feel ia duty 



bound, humble as I am, representing the consti- 
tuency that I do, to join issue directly and posi- 
tively with the Governor, and I enter my most 
solemn protest against the conclusions which, he 
has drawn. I say, Sir, that the North is not 
equally auiity with the South for the rebellion 
that is upon us. I lay the whole blame of this 
wicked rebellion to the Southern States. I 
charge directly home to slavery not only as be- 
ing the subject but the cause of the controversy, 
and. Sir, I expect in the course of argument to 
])rove it, and I hope I may have the patient at- 
tention of the committee while I do it. Sir, our 
Republican form of government was established 
by the patriotism and blood of our Revolutionary 
fathers, after seven years of sanguinary war 
with the most powerful government in 'the world. 
A remark was made by the gentleman from Erie 
(Mr. Seymour), the other day to this eflfect, 
that if any sou of a revolutionary father did not 
oppose the " arbitrary arrests," he ought to find 
a political grave so deep that there would be no 
resurrection. I wish him to understand, Sir, 
that I am the son of one of those revolutionary 
sires. My father saw service during the entire 
revolutionary w.ar. He was present. Sir, at the 
battle of Stillwater, at the taking of Burgoyue. 
He has seen that immortal man (Mr. R. looked 
at the picture of Washington in rear of the 
Speaker's chair), whose picture is now looking 
down upon us. He left little property for his 
cliildren, but he left a far richer legacy to them 
in the memory of the share he had, and the acts 
he performed in the struggle for our indepen- 
dence. 

Mr. Chairman — At the termination of the war, 
slavery had a foothold in the country. It was 
introduced into the colonies at a very early day. 
The government of Great Britain is responsible 
for the introduction of slavery into this country. 
Her laws at that time, to a very considerable 



extent, protected the commerce in slaves upon 
the high seas. She is responsible for tlie intro- 
duction of it, but not for its perpetuation. At 
the time of the adoption of the Constitution, 
slavery existed in every state of the Union, Mitli 
the exception of Massachusetts and New Hamp- 
shire. 

Mr. Chairman — You will recollect that during 
the struggle of the revolutionary war, articles of 
confederation were formed for t'lie government of 
the thirteen states ; but they were found entirely 
inadequate for the purposes designed. And in 
consequence, a national convention was called in 
1787, by the patriots and statesmen of that 
day, whose eminence in that respect have never 
been exceeded. The object of the convention 
was to frame a constitution adapted to the wants 
of the country, its rising greatness and its exten- 
sive domains. Now, Sir, in order to get at the 
views and opinions of the great men of that age 
upon slavery, we can only quote from their opin- 
ions and speeches. I do it under the fullest con- 
viction that I shall be able to establish the fact 
that they contemplated in their acts the final 
extinguishment of slavery in the country. That 
they considered its continued existence, for any 
length of time, entirely incompatible with our 
republican form of government ; that the Con- 
stitution they framed furnishes evidence of this. 

I now. Sir, proceed to give the opinions of the 
early fathers, previous to the formation of the 
Constitution. Dr. Benjamin Rush, an eminent 
man of that day, says : " Domestic slavery is 
repugnant to the principles of Christianity ; this 
is a strong expression, but it is just. I believe 
that God governs the world, and I believe it to 
be a maxim in his, as in our, courts, that those 
who ask for equity ought to do it." — Letter from 
Spain, 1780. 

John Jay says: "Till America comes into 
this measure (gradual emancipation) her prayers 
to heaven will be impious." 

Dr. Benjamin Franklin said: "Slavery is an 
atrocious debasement of human nature." 

George Washington says, in 1786, in a letter 
to Robert Morris : " I can only say that there is 
not a man living who wishes more sincerely 
than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition 
of it (Slavery) ; but there is only one proper and 
effectual mode in which it can be accomplished, 
and that is by legislative authority, and this, so 
far as my suffrage will go, shall never be want- 
ing." — 9 Sparks' Washington, p.' 6, 158. 

Thomas Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia 
says : " The whole commerce between master 
and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most 
boisterous passi:)ns; the most unremitting des- 
potism on the one part, and degrading submis- 
sions on the other. I tremble for my country 
when I reflect that God is just, and that his jus- 
tice cannot sleep forever." 

These, Sir, are the words of Thomas Jeffer- 
son, the distinguished patriot and statesman, at 
that period of our history. They are the words 
of a Virginia slaveholder, and the voice of him 
who drafted the declaration of American Inde- 
pendence, and who was since a distinguished 
Democratic Tresident of the Republic. 



William Piuckney, of the Maryland House of 
Delegates, in that state, in 1789, said: "Sir, 
iniquitous, and most dishonorable to Maryland, 
is that dreary system of partial bondage which 
her laws have hitherto supported with a solici- 
tude worthy of a better object, and her citizens, 
by her jiractice countenanced, founded in a dis- 
graceful traflic, to which the parent country lert 
its fostering aid from motives of interest, but 
which she would have disdained to encourage 
had England been the mart of such inhuman 
merchandise. Its continuance is as shameful as 
its origin." 

I have thus, Sir, briefly as possible, introduced 
some extracts showing the opinion of some of 
the early fathers upon the subject of slavery. I 
now proceed to show some of the opinions of 
those eminent and distinguished statesmen who 
framed the Constitution of the United States. 
I think I shall be able to show that the Consti- 
tution itself bears intrinsic evidence that its 
authors contemplated the speedy extinguish- 
ment of slavery. 

James Madison, formerly president of the 
United States, we all know who he was; his 
democratic antecedents ; we all know that he 
was a Virginia slaveholder. History informs us 
of the active part he took in the deliberations 
of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He 
says, in that Convention : " That it is wrong to 
admit in the Constitution the idea that there 
could be property in man." — 3d Madison Piqjers, 
1429. 

" On the motion of Mr. Randolph, another 
Virginia slaveholder," the word "servitude" 
was struck out, and " service " unanimously 
inserted ; the former being thought to express 
tlie condition of slaves and the latter the obli- 
gation of free persons." — 3d Madison Papers, 
1560. 

Now, Sir, these remarks of James Madison, 
and the motion made by Mr. Randolph, had 
reference to the third subdivision of section 2, 
article 4th of the Constitution, where it reads: 
" No person held to service in one state, in con- 
sequence of any law or regulation therein, shall 
be discharged from such service or labor, but 
shall be delivered up on claim of the party to 
whom such service may be due." The word per- 
son was inserted for the express purpose of 
avoiding the idea that there could be property in 
human beings. And the word "servitude" was 
struck out and the word "service" inserted for 
the reason stated by Mr. Randolph, both upon 
the suggestion of eminent Virginia statesmen 
and slaveholders. How careful these public 
men were to submit to the public opinion of that 
day ; how careful not to run counter to the grow- 
ing sentiment in favor of freedom against slavery. 

James Wilson, a prominent member of the 
convention, speaking of the power of Congress 
over the slave trade after twenty years, said — 
" I consider this clause as laying the foundation 
for banishing slavery out of the country, and 
though the jieriod is more distant thau I could 
wish it, it will produce the same kind gradual 
change as was produced in Pennsylvania. The 
new states which are to be formed will be under 



the control of Congress, and slavery will never 
be introduced among them," 2d EUioti's Debates, 
452. 

These remarks relate, Sir, to article 1st, sec- 
tion 9, subdivision 1st, of the Constitution, 
where it reads, " The migration or importation 
of such persons as any of the states now existing 
shall think proper to admit shall not be prohib- 
ited by Congress prior to the year 1808. The 
introduction of that clause into the Constitution 
was no doubt based upon the idea, that after 
the period of twenty years alluded to, measures 
would be adopted by Congress for the prohibi- 
tion of the commerce in human beings upon the 
high seas, and that was the result of it, for an 
act of Congress was pansed March 2, 1807, in 
which slavery importation was prohibited after 
January 1, 1808. 

I am aware. Sir, that these remarks may be 
dry, but these are stubborn facts. It requires 
patience to look into these arguments, I could de- 
claim and fix better attention perhaps if I should 
desist from reading further extracts. (Some 
member cried go on.) You will p'rceive, Sir, 
that these opinions were by no means confined 
to the free states. In the ratification convention 
of Virginia, Mr. Johnson said, " They tell us 
that they see a progressive danger of bringing 
about emancipation ; the principle has begun 
since the Revolution ; let us do what we will, it 
will come round. Slavery has been the founda- 
tion of much of that impiety and dissipation 
which has so much disseminated among our 
countrymen. If it were totally abolished it 
would do much good," 3d Elliott's Debates, 3, pp. 
6-48. 

Mr. Randolph said, " I hope there are none 
here who, considering the subject in the calm 
light of philosophy, will advance an objection 
dishonorable to Virginia, that, at the moment 
they are securing the rights of their citizens, 
there is a spark of hope that those unfortunate 
men now held in bondage, may, by the opera- 
tion of the general government, be made free. 
Sd Elliott's Debates, p. 598. 

Patrick Henry, in the same convention, saii), 
" Another thing will contribute to bring this 
about : Slavery is detested, we despise it witli 
all the pity of humanity." Debates in Virginia 
Convention, p. 464. 

And here let me pause one moment to inquire 
who was Patrick Henry ? He, Sir, was the elo- 
quent champion of colonial rights in the pro- 
vince of Virginia, He, Sir, perhaps more than 
any man living, certainly within the limits of 
Virginia, by his persuasive powers, infused life 
vigor and energy among tbe people in favor o 
freedom and resistance to tyrannical power. 

In the North Carolina convention Mr. Iredall, 
afterwards a Judge of the United States Supreme 
Court, said, " When the entire abolition of 
slavery takes place, it will be an event which 
must be pleasing to every generous mind and 
every friend of human nature." Power of Con- 
gress, pp. 31, 32. 

While the Constitutional Convention of 1787 
was sitting, the old Congress was in session. The 
latter body at that time passed the celebrated 



ordinance forbidding and entirely excluding 
slavery from all that territory known as the 
Northwest Territory. History informs us of 
the fact that Thomas Jefferson was the author of 
this ordinance, that his mind foresaw the im- 
mense value of it, and comprehended the untold 
blessings that were to flow from it. 

The very first Congress that convened under 
the new Constitution ratified this ordinance. 
Mr. Chairman, where was this territory and what 
was its condition ? At the time of the passage 
of the ordinance it was almost one unbroken 
wilderness, scarcely inhabited by other than the 
Indian and tbe wild beast of the forest. It was 
bounded on the south by the Ohio, east by 
Pennsylvania, north by the lakes, and stretch- 
ing onward nearly, if not quite, to the British 
possessions, and on the west by the Missis- 
sippi river. Within the limits of this vast 
country there now exists those populous 
states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois 
and Wisconsin. What, Sir, would have 
been the condition of those states now, if 
slavery had been engrafted upon their soil ? 
Or would they indeed have existed at all 
in their present shape ? What would be the 
condition of that country now if it was owned 
by some one hundred and fifty thousand slave- 
holders, lording it over their hiiman chattels 
with a rod of iron ; and what would be the con- 
dition of the white population too poor to own 
slaves 1 I need only point to the Gulf States for 
an answer, I may now with more propriety 
add what is the real condition of tlie States 
oabve named, that have come into existence un- 
der the benign influence of the Jeflersonian or- 
dinance. Look, Sir, at their industrious and 
happy population. Look at the extent of their 
commerce sent down those tributaries to the 
Mississippi river, to the Gulf of Mexico, and from 
thence to the ports of the world. Look at the 
immense amount of her surplus products that 
find their way, through artificial channels, to 
the tide waters of the Hudson, and from thence 
to the metropolis, to seek their final destination. 
Are not those States now. Sir, the granary of the 
world. Is not the Eastern Continent dependent 
upon them to feed their starving millions ? 

Look again, Sir, at their schools, seminaries 
of learning and colleges — their churches and 
temples of worship. Look at their millions of 
population of men, women and children sur- 
rounded with all the comforts of social life, with 
nothing to embitter, always excepting the rebel- 
lion. When we have all taken a full survey of 
this picture, let us ofler our silent thanks to 
Heaven that slavery was -never permitted to 
curse this fair heritage. Who can doubt the 
wishes and desires of our fathers when this vast 
empire was consecrated to freedom. 

After thd lapse of six or seven years an event 
took place that changed the whole aspect of 
aftairs. In the limits of Connecticut, one of those 
New England States now so much hated by 
traitors North and South, there lived a " Yan- 
kee" by the name of Eli Whitney. He, Sir, 
while a resident of New Haven, in 1793, invented 
the celebrated " Cotton Gin." It was patented 



in 1793. This invention infused new life and 
vigor in the production of cotton. It increased 
the demand for slave lahor, and in time in- 
creased the demand for slave territory. 

Why, Sir, at the time of this invention by a 
" Yankee" (for who, at the South, had the in- 
genuity to invent a machine for picking cotton ?) 
cotton could hardly be considered an article of 
export. In 1798 the whole amount exported 
did not exceed the sum of fifty thousand dol- 
lars. Now, Sir, or rather at the time of the 
outbreaking of this rebellion, the exportation 
of cotton reached the enormous magnitude 
of one hundred millions of dollars and more. 
Now, Sir, very little thought is required to 
discover where the driftings would be under 
circumstances like these. Wealth obtained by 
grinding the face of the poor and wringing it out 
of the unpaid services of others, has a remark- 
able tendency to blunt the moral perceptions. 
Avarice and power soon made the discovery that 
slavery liad constitutional guarantees and what 
was considered a curse was excused upon the 
plea of necessity. From this period of time slave- 
labor began to grapple with free labor for the 
ascendency. It adopted measures for the ac- 
complishment of its ends. The next event that 
happened, of importance to the South, was the 
purchase of the Louisiana Tetri iory. This took 
place in 1803, while Thomas Jefferson was 
President of the United States. This vast and 
almost interminable extent of country formerly 
belonged to Spain, and was by Spain ceded to 
France. About this time the port of New Or- 
leans was closed against the commerce of the 
western states, which were being rapidly popu- 
lated. A matter affecting those localities so se- 
riously caused no small excitement, and that, in 
conjunction with southern clamor demanded the 
purchase of the territory. Thomas Jefferson had 
constitutional ol^ections to the purchase. But 
the measure was popular from its necessity. 
The commerce upon the tributaries of the 
Mississippi demanded an outlet, which could 
not be refused, and consequently the pur- 
chase was affected. The country was boun- 
ded on the West by the length of the Mis- 
sissippi, on the North by the British posses- 
sions, and stretching itself far in the west over 
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Un- 
fortunately lor the country there were about 
forty thousand slaves, mostly located about New 
Orleans. It was contended that this fact blotted 
the whole laud with the institution, and thereby 
was the slave power strengthened. Louisiana 
was admitted as a state in 1812. But 1 must 
pass on moDC rapidly. In 1819 Missouri de- 
manded admission as a sovereign state into the 
Union. She demanded an entrance with sla- 
very engrafted upon her constitution. The dis- 
cussion of the question of her admission, in 
Congress, caused a tremendous excitement North 
and South. Such was the public sentiment of 
the North that a stern resistance was made to 
the admission of any more slave states from the 
Louisiana j)urchase. As usual, the South threat- 
ened dissolution. After long discussions and 
unbounded efforts on both sides, the matter was 



finally settled by a compromise. Missouri was 
admitted into the Union with slavery, but with an 
agreement that all that portion of the Louisiana 
purchase lying North of la'itude 36 degrees and 
30 minutes should be forever free. This com- 
promise was effected by southern votes and in 
accordance with southern demands. Here, again, 
the peculiar institution triumphed. I might as 
well add here that Florida was purchased of 
Spain in 1819, and admitted as a state in 1836, 
constituting all that extensive peninsula at the _ 
southern extremity of the United States, and 
devoted to all the purposes of slavery. In the 
history of events Texas next demands our at- 
tention. 

Texas was originally a portion of Mexico, and 
while under Mexican laws slavery was not tole- 
rated or permitted ; but Texas rebelled from the 
government of Mexico and obtained her inde- 
pendence, and being peopled mostly from the 
southern states, she at once adopted a constitu- 
tion suitable to the feelings of that class of com- 
munity. She lingered along in a miserable con- 
dition as a Republic for a few years, and then 
sought to be annexed to the United States. Here 
then the perplexing question which had so often 
disturbed the public mind was again presented. 

Henry Clay lost his election because he had 
written a letter to some friend in Alabama, that, 
'■ personally," he was not opposed to the annex- 
ation of Texas ; politically, he was. 

Martin Van Buren, the great democratic states- 
man of the North, was laid in the dust by the 
South, on this Texas question. It was univer- 
sally conceded that he was to be t^e democratic 
nominee for the presidency in 1844. He had a 
majority of the delegates to the national conven- 
tion ; but he had dared to write a letter against 
the policy of annexing Texas. It was an able 
and convincing letter against its propriety ; but 
the,South, for this reason, doomed him to a poli- 
tical grave, and the fiat must be obeyed. His 
opinion stood in the way of their designs, and he 
must be immolated. So, when the convention 
met, by some legerdemain they got up the two- 
third rule, and by this means James K. Polk was 
trumped u])on {,he surface. He was a man vastly 
inferior in talent to Mr. Van Buren, and but little 
known in the country ; but he was the chosen 
instrument to carry out the purposes of the South, 
and well adapted to his position. Texas was 
annexed in 1845. I pass on now to New Mexico. 
In annexing Texas, Mr. Polk got up a war with 
Mexico, the sole design of which was, in the end, 
to steal some of her territory. He had repeatedly 
sought appropriations from Congress for that 
purpose, but was generally defeated by the per- 
sistent interference of the " Wilmot Proviso." 
However, the territory was finally purchased for 
fifteen millions of dollars. But to show the 
animus of the whole thing, in the course of the 
trt^aty with the Mexican Commissioners, Mr. 
Trist, in his official despatch, says, " that if it 
were in their power to otter the whole territory . 
described in our project increased tenfold in 
value, and, in addition to that, covered a foot 
thick all over with i)ure gold, upon the single 
condition that slavery should be excluded there- 



from, I could not entertain the offer for a mo- 
ment, nor even think of communisating it to 
Washington." 

Mr. Chairman. At this period of time the whole 
government of the country was under the influ- 
ence and power of the slave oligarchy. 

The executive, legislative and judicial depart- 
ments all were required to do its bidding, and 
were prompt in the execution of every order. 

We now approach the year 1848. This year is 
memorable for two great political events : 1st. 
A new political faith was got up for the Demo- 
cratic party — by the South, of course. It ap- 
peared in a letter written by General Cass, the 
Democratic candidate for the Presidency, to Mr. 
Nicolson, of Tennessee. It obtained the sobri- 
quet of "Squatter Sovereignty." It was got up 
by the slave power for the occasion, and subse- 
quently abandoned by it. It left it optional with 
the inhabitants of the territories whether free- 
dom or slavery should prevail. The popular 
cant of submitting to the will of the people, was 
dwelt upon with unusual energy. It made no 
difference that the doctrine ran directly counter 
to the well established opinions of all parties of 
earlier days. It made no difference that the Con- 
stitution had given the control of the territories 
to Congress. It made no matter that James 
Madison had submitted the question to his cabi- 
net, upon the adoption of the " Missouri Com- 
promise," whether Congress had the jurisdiction 
over slavery in the territories, and that every 
one of his cabinet, including John C. Calhoun, 
decided that it had. It was sullicient to know, 
that for the time being, the South demand -d this 
new faith, and its dictum must be obeyed. 

The second event was the re- uttering of an old 
political faith in the celebrated Buffalo Platform. 
Now, Sir, 1 pause to inquire who it was that got 
up this " Buffalo Platform V I will here say to 
the reporter of the Atlas, that he will confer a 
great favor by reporting my remarks at length 
upon this subject, so that they may appearing 
full in tlie Atlas. These reminiscences are ex- 
tremely refreshing, and will be, no doubt, both 
to the editor of the Atlas^and myself. Now, Sir, 
I ask again, who got up this " Buffalo Platform ?" 
It was the radical Democrats who were its lead- 
ing spirits ; and where are they now 1 They 
were John Van Buren, Dean Richmond, William 
Cassidy of the Atlas and Argus, and others of 
the like kidney. And, Sir, what did they do in 
Convention at Buffalo ? They adopted anti- 
slavery resolutions a great deal stronger than 
have ever been adopted by the Republican party 
since its organization. Why, Sir, we were to 
have no more slave states ; our territories were 
never to be cursed with slavery ; our banner was 
thrown to the breeze, and under it we were to 
" fight on and ever, until victory perched upon 
it." I had been an ardent Whig previous to 
this time. The Albany Evening Journal told us 
it was good Whig doctrine, and in fact I thought 
so myself; so I jumped upon the platform. 
Well, Sir, what was the sequel ? John Van Bu- 
ren, after floundering two or three years, writing 
letters and making anti-slavery speeches, "caved 



Dean Richmond, after hanging around the 
outskirts for some time, dropped in among the 
" Softs," and this present moment stands some- 
where half way between a vigorous prosecution 
of the war, and civil war, anarchy and bloodshed 
within the limits of the Empire State. 

And what, sir, shall I say of William Cassidy 1 
In bringing up his case I must necessarily show 
a marked contrast between a Democrat of 1848 
and one of 1863. But a day or two since, I for- 
tunately came across a copy of the Albany Atlas 
under date of April 6th, 1850. Up to that time, 
at all events, Mr. Cassidy proved true. I had 
the curiosity to examine it. I first ascertained 
who were the editors at that time. They were 
Van Dyck and Cassidy. 1 looked at the head of 
its editorial columns and was startled by seeing 
numerous indexes pointing downwards to an 
article pregnant with meaning, and what think 
you the article contained, here it is: "The 
stone which the builders refused shall become 
the head of the corner." 

" Resolved, That while the democracy of New 
York, represented in convention, will faithfully 
adhere to all the compromises of the Constitu- 
tion and maintain all the reserved rights of the 
states, they declare, since the crisis has arrived 
when that question must be met, their uncom- 
promising hostility to the extension of slavery 
into territory now free, or tvhich may be here- 
after acquired by any action of the Government 
of the United States." 

Who, at that period of time, wanted any 
better doctrine than this. I declare here in 
this place that it met my views completely and 
entirely. I shall have occasion to show before 
[ close, the position that Mr. Cassidy now 
occupies. So yon see these men, one after 
another, tore up a plank from this platform, 
which they were prominent in establishing, and 
sent me off with some other men clinging to 
the broken fragments upon an undiscovered sea. 

The next event that occurred was the repeal 
of the Missouri Compromise in 1854. 

The country was startled from centre to cir- 
cumference with the announcement of the con- 
templated outrage. 

The responsible mover in this outrage was 
Stephen A. Douglas, backed by the entire south- 
ern delegation with five or six honorable excep- 
tions. Stephen A. Douglas drew his first breath 
among the green hills of Vermont ; he inhaled 
during the early period of his life the pure 
atmosphere of its freedom. But at the period 
of time alluded to, without one solitary peti- 
tion for it from any portion of the country, 
without any action or demand for it from the 
people of the North, and in utter defiance of 
public opinion, he urged its repeal. With 
transcendent talents, unwonted energy, and 
beloved by his party, he unfortunately suc- 
ceeded. And thus that which had obtained all 
the solemnity of a treaty, had been in existence 
for thirty-three years, and which all supposed 
was unalterable as the laws of the Modes and 
Persians was swept out of existence to satisfy 
the insatiable demands of an overshadowing 
power. This, of course, left all that portion of 



8 



the Louisiana territory dedicated to freedom by 
the compromise upon an oceau of uncertainty. 
I cannot lind it in my heart at this moment to 
speak too harshly of Stephen A. Douglas ; he is 
not now among the living. I am told that upon 
his dying bed he entreated his party to stand by 
the flag of the country. Man}- of his grave errors 
therefore may be forgiven. 

Mr. HuTCHiNS : Did not Mr. Douglas in 1848 
propose to extend the Missouri Compromise 
line to the Pacific? 

Mr. Redingtox : I think he did ; but both the 
Whig and Democratic parties of that day were 
quite too willing to subserve the interests of 
slavery. We now come to a grand scene per- 
formed in the drama of the country. It was 
acted upon the plains of Kansas, and the foot- 
steps of the performers were marked with blood. 
Here, Sir, in Kansas, the seeds were sown that 
enkindled the war now desolating our homes. 
Kansas was a portion of that territory laid open 
to slavery by the repeal of the Missouri compro- 
mise. A contest was invited between slave labor 
and free labor. The settled part of Kansas lying 
contiguous to the slave state of Missouri, made it 
convenient for slavery to show its poisonous 
tooth. Time will not permit me to go over the 
ground. The citizens of Massachusetts and 
other states, determined not to be deprived of 
their constitutional rights, determined not to be 
thwarted by the erasing of the Missouri line, 
poured iu upon Kansas their unceasing flow of 
immigration. A contest ensued unparalleled in 
American history. 1 am proud to say that in 
the end Freedom triumphed, and Kansas was 
admitted as a free state iu 1861. As it triumphed 
then, so I believe it will succeed in the ordeal 
through which our country is now passing. 

Previous to these events the South claimed a 
right to transmit their slaves to any of the free 
territories, and hold them there as such in defi- 
ance of any acts of the General Government, 
and when once there they must be recognized 
by the Government and protected as such. They 
even claimed the right to bring theu- slaves into 
the free states and hold them there to suit their 
convenience, in defiance of state constitutions 
and state laws. 

I allude to these things to show how rapidly 
this anaconda was winding itself around the 
body politic and crushing out its vitality. Now, 
Sir, we come to the Republican platform adopted 
at Chicago in 1860. There never was a Republi- 
can platform so anti-slavery as the one got up 
at Bufl[;ilo. The Republicans had adopted a 
resolution unalterably opposed to the extension 
o( slavery into free territory, and this they were 
determined to maintain at the ballot box, sub- 
missive always to the popular judgment. This, 
Sir, was almost the only issue iu the presiden- 
tial election of that year. 

The Repuhlican party never have desired to 
infringe upon the constitutional rights of the 
South. They have never desired or claimed 
that they could interfere with the domestic in- 
stitution of the South, within the limits of their 
respective state governments. They hav« de- 
clared to the world repeatedly that this was not I 



their design or intention. To establish this 
truth, it is only necessary to refer to the resolu- 
tions passed at every national convention of the 
Republican party, since it had an organization. 
It is only necessary to refer to the resolutions 
passed in the Congress of 1861. 

On the 11th day of February, 1861, a resolu- 
tion was passed, of which the following is a copy : 

" On motion of Mr. Shekman, 

Resolved, That neither the Congress nor the people of 
Government of nonslaveholdiug states have a constitu- 
tional right to interfere with slavery in any slaveholding 
states of the Union. Yeas, 161. Nays, none." 

In order that the people of the Southern 
States could have no possible pretense to doubt 
the sincerity of this principle of the Republican 
party, they passed a resolution in Congress on 
the 28th day of February, 1861, of which the 
following is a copy : 

Resolved, That no amendment shall be made to the 
Constitution which will authorize or give Congress 
power to abolish or intefere with any state with the 
donieslic institutions thereof, including that of persons 
held to labor or servitude by the laws of said state. 

In another aspect if President Lincoln had 
been ever so much inclined to do injustice to the 
people of the South, of which there could be 
no pretense, what could he etfect ? Both houses 
of Congress were politically opposed to him, 
and the Supreme Court was under the control, 
as far as its politics were concerned, of the De- 
mocratic party. It must be admitted by all im- 
partial men and impartial governments that they 
had not the slightest excuse to secede from the 
Union and inaugurate civil war It must be ap- 
parent to all mankind that a determination on 
the part of the South to enlarge the area of 
slavery, to fasten it upon the free territories, to 
render the whole United States subservient to its 
interests, was the sole cause of the war now deso- 
lating our firesides and our homes. I do not be- 
lieve we could have succeeded had not the 
Democrats of the South purposely divided the 
Democatic party. They did it lor the express 
purpose that a pretext might be furnished for 
this conspiracy against the government. They 
did it with the wicked intent of imbruing their 
hands in their brothers blood. They did it with 
the murderous purpose of striking a fatal blow 
if possible at the Temple of Liberty. 

Abraham Lincoln was duly elected President 
of the United States ; he was constitutionally 
elected ; he only is invested with the power to 
subdue this wicked rebellion, and any attempt to 
substitute any other power, is to bring civil war 
and anarchy upon us. For fear of violence, he 
secretly found himself at the Capitol ; and what 
was the condition ot things at Washington, just 
previous to his entering upon the high duties of 
his office ? Is any Democrat in this house pre- 
pared to justify the acts of James Buchanan, 
and were they not marked with imbecility ? 
Look at his cabinet, more than one-half of whom 
were tainted with the blackest treason. Our 
arsenals were sacked and plundered of their 
arms and munitions of war, and secretl}- con- 
veyed South. Our army was scattered to remote 
distances, and stationed at inaccessible points. 






Our navy was ordered to seas most remote, and 
entirely out of reach in the nation's extremity. 

Washiugton was filled with traitors, spies, and 
informers. The clerks in the department of 
Washington were more or less tainted with trea- 
son. AVhat heart is so cold tbat it could not 
sympathise with President Lincoln when he was 
inaugurated into office 1 Who does not realize 
to some extent the weight of that responsibility 
that could not be shunned — that does not feel 
that he was entitled to the full aid of all the 
loyal states, and was actuated by honest and 
patriotic motives ? But 1 must pass on. On the 
12th day of April, 1861, in the morning of that 
day, there lioated from the walls of Fort Sumter. 
in all its beauty and splendor, the star spangled 
banner of our country. It floated from a fortress 
that belonged to the United States, in the harbor 
of Charleston. Within its walls there were some 
one hundred brave men, defending that flag 
against threatened violence and disgrace. Im- 
prisoned within, and closed against all access to 
friends, they had fed upon their last crust, and 
waited calmly for the coming events. Around 
that fortress were some ten thousand men, bid- 
ding defiance to the government of which the 
flag that waived above the fortress was an em- 
blem. They had fifteen batteries read}' to pour 
in upon the fort their missiles of destruction. 
Suddenly was heard the roar of cannon and the 
thundering of artillery ; every battery was opened 
with unrelenting fury, and hotshot and destruc- 
tion came upon them. After a gallant defense, 
they surrendered to superior numbers. Thus 
fell Fort Sumpter, and thus commenced this 
bloody civil war. 

Now I want particularly to call the attention of 
the Democrats in this house to the speech made 
by Gov. Ficken.s upon the surrender of the fort 
and its evacuation. Says he, " We have hum- 
bled the flag of the United States, and as long as 
I have the honor to preside over you as chief 
magistrate, so help me God, there is no power 
of this earth that shall ever lower from that 
fortress, those flags, unless they be lowered and 
trailed in a sea of blood. I can here say to you 
that it is the first time, in the history of this 
country, that the stars and stripes have been 
humbled. It has triumphed for seventy years, 
but to-daj', on the loth day of April, it has been 
humbled before the glorious little state of South 
Carolina." Yes, sir, and I reiterate the fact that 
it was never before humbled. It was the em- 
blem of our glory and our greatness. AVherever 
that flag floated, were it upon the high seas, or 
in any harbor or port in the world, no nation 
dared to insult it. Every individual who had a 
right to its protection, however humble, wa.s 
safe beneath its protecting folds. We never had 
a contest with any nation, when we were united, 
but what that flag came ofl' with glory and 
honor. On the 15th of April, 1861, President 
Lincoln issued his first proclamation asking for 
75,OUO volunteers to def«nd the Capitol from 
threatened invasion. I apprehend that at tliis 
period of time the President and his Cabinet had 
no just estimate of the strength and power of 
this rebellion. If so there would have been 



500,000 men summoned to the field instead of 
75,000. When that proclamation was issued 
what course did some of the Democrats take ? 
What did the Atlas & Ai-gus of this city say ? 
It came out in a mean and uuiiatriotic article, 
denouncing it as unconstitutional. To prove 
what I say, here is an extract from the Atlas & 
Argus, under date of April 15tli, 1861. In 
speaking of the proclamation, asking for 75,000 
volunteers, it says : " Where does he find 
the power to do this ? Congress refused to pass 
any law for such purpose. The existing acts of \ 
Congress confer no such authority. Is the pro- '■ 
position a mere 'attempt to brag 1 Let not our 
Democratic Legislatures be decoyed into coun- 
tenancing any such act of usurpation." 

Mr. Seymour: What were the views of Mr. 
Tremain at that time ? 

Mr. Redinston : I have nothing to do with 
Mr. Tremain now. The petty quarrels of the 
Democrats with Mr. Tremain is of small mo- 
ment in comparison with the magnitude of the 
subject I am now discussing. Suflice it to say 
hat the organ of the Democrats, even at that 
time, embarrassed the administration with its i 
unseemly opposition. Now, Sir, here is a hap- j 
py time for me to allude to glorious old Massa- I 
chusetts, the more so as an attempt has been > 
made by a leading Democratic member of this 
house to abuse, ill-treat and villifij her. Glorious 
and never to be forgotten Massachusetts I How 
fondly do I cling to the memory of thy earlier 
days 1 How I love to think of thy deeds of patri- 
otism in the dawnings of the Revolution 1 How I 
observe those men, in the garb of Indians, 
throwing those chests of tea from British ves- 
sels in Boston harbor, into the seal How I 
think of that first blood shed at Lexington! 
that first battle fought at Bunker Hill, where 
the immortal Warren died for his country ! How 
I linger around the name of Hancock and the 
Adams' ! How bold the signature of John Han- 
cock to the Declaration of Independence I And 
has she lost any of her love of country from 
the lajjse of time 1 Scarcely had the news of the 
proclamation reached the ear of Massachusetts 
when the streets of Boston resounded with the 
tread of armed men. Only three days from the 
date of the proclamation, and on the 18th of 
April, Massachusetts' regiments passed through 
New York on their way to the defense of the 
Capitol. Who can ever forget that memorable 
day, as they passed through Broadway, amidst 
the cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, and bless- 
ing of thousands and tens of thousands that 
thronged that great thoroughfare of the Metro- 
polis. The nearest and most direct route to the 
Capitol was through the city of Baltimore. On 
the arrival of these Massachusetts regiments at 
Baltimore they found their progress impeded 
by an infuriated mob that thronged the streets, 
pelting them with stones, brickbats and other 
missiles of destruction ; and several of the brave 
Massachusetts soldiers lost their lives, their 
blood sprinkling the pavements. 

Sir, but a day or two since, resolutions were 
introduced into this house for partisan eflfect, 
highly laudatory of Gen, McClellan, and decla- 



10 



ring, among other things, that he had three 
times saved the Capitol, which all knew to be 
untrue. Sir, the only time that the Capitol has 
been seriously in danger was on this occasion, 
when the sons of the old Bay state were press- 
ing on to its rescue. If credit is to be given for 
saving the Capitol, it belongs elsewhere than to 
Gen. McClellan. 

Mk. Fields : Was not the Capitol in danger 
when President Lincoln had every thing in 
readiness to remove to Philadelphia 1 

Mr. Redington : The President and his Cabi- 
net may have had knowledge of danger not 
communicated to the public. As far as any 
communication of danger to the country is con- 
cerned, the Capitol has never been seriously 
menaced, at all events, to no further extent than 
what it was prepared for, other than the occa- 
sion t© which I have alluded. 

Sir, I regard Massachusetts as the brightest 
star in the galaxy of the original thirteen states. 
I regard her as the most resplendent star in the 
galaxy of the loyal states. 

I am astonished that any member of the Leg- 
islature of the Empire State, born within its 
limits, educated in a New England college, 
could, in view of all these facts, arise in his 
place and seek to tarnish her well earned repu- 
tation, or make the attempt to villify and abuse 
her. I envy not that man's political sagacity 
who dared to do it. Could any one that really 
loves his country do it ? 

And I take it upon me to assert most em- 
phatically, what no intelligent man will deny, 
that the Capitol then was in imminent peril ; that 
it was surrounded with traitors ; the departments 
of the Government more or less infected, and the 
army there to defend it, to some extent, sus- 
pected of iniidelity. I also assert boldly that 
no loyal state is deserving of more credit for 
saving the Capitol than glorious old Massachu- 
setts. 

Mr, Chairman : We had tories and cowboys of 
the Revolution, and what was the occupation of 
the " cowboys ?" They existed more or less 
along and about the Hudson river. In what 
particular pleasures were they indulging ? They 
were feeding and supplying the British armies 
then holding and possessing New York. They 
were secretly spying out the land and carrying 
the earhest information to the " Redcoats" 
wherever they could be found. They had their 
reward. The finger of scorn was pointed at 
them while life lasted. Infamy followed their 
footsteps along life's uneveii way until they 
dropped into dishonored graves. But did the 
disgrace which hung around these characters 
cease when life terminated 1 No ; nor it never 
will. Consult the history thnt records the events 
of the American Revolution, and there you will 
find the record true to life, and that record will 
be handed down to all posterity. It will be an 
incontestable proof of the estimate formed of 
their characters by those immortal patriots to 
whom we are indebted for our country. Now 
for the parallel. The nation is now endeavoring 
to crush a wicked and causeless rebellion. The 
momentous question hangs suspended in the 



balance whether freedom or slavery is to pre* 
vail on this continent. Under these circum- 
stances we must admit that we have members 
upon the floor of this house who do every- 
thing they can to embarrass the National Gov- 
ernment in its struggle for existence, and who 
lose no opportunity to oppose the Administra- 
tion. For instance, in the matter of " arbitrary 
arrests," what outbursts of eloquence on the 
suspension of the writ of "habeas corpus" — 
what unusual and sudden zeal manifested in be- 
half of constitutional rights. One gentleman 
tells us (Mr. Dean of New York) "that if there 
is another arbitrary arrest made there will be 
revolution, and there ought to be." He tells us 
further, that "two can play at the game of ' ar- 
bitrary arrests,' " threatening thereby the friends 
of the Administration with arbitrary arrest, (ac- 
cording to the meaning they put upon the term,) 
if they persist in shielding the Government in 
the policy which in this respect they have 
thought best to pursue. And who is to be the 
instrument of this warfare between the State 
and National Government ? Horatio Seymour, 
the Governor of the Empire State. Whence all 
this sudden zeal ? Two of the members who 
have spoken against the arrests were members of 
the last House. (Messrs. Talman and John S. 
Havens.) These arrests were many of them 
made in the Summer and Fall of 1861. Why 
were these Democrats so silent during the 
last session of the Legislature, under this, as 
they say, monstrous assumption of power. Why, 
indeed, was there not sosae whisper to warn the 
Administration of the civil war with which they 
now threaten us in this State ? 

And now, Sir, on another point, they are doing 
all they can to bring reproach upon the Admin- 
istration. They attack the currency of the coun- 
try. They hate the '" green backs" with perfect 
hatred, and lose no opportunity, either public or 
private, to depreciate the value of our National 
currency. When the public confidence is shaken 
in the financial policy of the Government, when 
there is a wkut of faith in its paper issues founded 
upon the wealth and integrity of the common- 
wealth, consequences the most dire and dreadful 
are almost sure to happen. 

Sir, I might continue to show instances too 
numerous to mention, for the time I have a right 
to consume, wherein these men are aiding and 
comforting the eiiemey. They were once silent, 
but now they come out from their hiding places 
bold and defiant. Says one member on the floor 
of this House, turning his eye towards the gal- 
lery, " I tell you the Democrats are some," and 
down came the response that was sought for. 
Now, Sir, I take it upon me to say that all these 
acts and sayings, whatever may be tlieir intent, 
are tending directly to anarchy and riot in our 
own State, and will most assuredly bury their 
authors in political infamy. These acts, Sir, 
have a tendency to paralyze the strong arm raised 
for the salvation of the country. They demor- 
alize our armies ; they disunite where there 
should be union ; and if untold miseries and 
destruction to our country should result from it, 



11 



they and tlieir abettors must bear the awful re- 
sponsibility. 

Mr. Chairman : The strength and power of the 
Rebellion, at the present moment, is slavery. 
The President, anxious to unite the country, 
and hoping to break up the entanglements of 
party, prosecuted the war very much in accord- 
ance with the wishes of the Democratic party, in 
the earlier stages of it. He mostly entrusted 
the command of the armies to men of that poli- 
tical faith. He forebore to strike the blow at 
the heart of the rebellion, for a long time. With 
the love of country that has never been exceeded ; 
with an earnestness and enthusiasm unparalleled, 
armies were raised by volunteering, with no 
compulsory process whatever, to put down those 
traitors who were raising bloody hands against 
ihe government that our fathers gave us ; fathers, 
|rothers, husbands, left home, with all the un- 
; umbered blessingsthat cluster around the social 
ircle ; severed all those dear relations between 
usband and wife, father and son, brother and 
ister, which language has no power to describe ; 
acriflced all, all, upon the altar of their coun- 
•y. They loved all these with a tensity that 
. efies description, but they loved their country 
lore. But, Sir, as long as the war was carried 
a so as to protect, rather than destroy, slavery ; 
) as to strengthen the cause of the war, rather 
lan weaken it ; the blood shed, and the sacrifi- 
;s made, produced comparativelj' little results, 
id slavery had the decided advantage. It dug 
le trenches — it built the embankments — it for- 
fied the towns — it waited upon and executed 
le order of its master. In the meantime, the 
)uthern troops, officers and soldiers, were fresh 
id vigorous to wield the weapons of death upon 
ir brave volunteers. Slavery also raised the 
tton that gave credit to the so-called Confede- 
te States, by which they raised money for the 
irposes of their revolutionary government, 
avery raised the corn to supply the army, and 
otected the plantation in the absence of its 
ister. Not so with Freedom. Free men had to 
nain at home and cultivate food for the supply 
its armies. B'ree men had to dig and work, 
li perform manual labor in thousands of ways. 
Bier than in perils of the battle-field. The 
^ntry saw this ; the President saw it. He pre- 
3rred the maintenance of the Union without 
lavery, than its destruction with it. He there- 
ore resolved, with great care and caution, to 
ssue his proclamation of freedom. He was slow, 
eliberate, but firm. He gave the rebels ample 
itiie to submit — to lay down their arms — to 
ome under the protection of the Constitution as 
t was. Time moved along, and the eventful 1st 
f January, 1863, came on. It was a day preg- 
ant with events. The slave in his lonely cabin 
ad heard that the day was approaching; his 
ruel and unrelenting master was anxious ; the 
ambling of Democratic murmurs was sounding 
1 the North ; the Union men of the North trem- 
led, for fear that the purposes of the President 
light be shaken ; the eastprn continent looked 
n with hope and yet with distrust. Time would 
ot wait. It was the fiat of destiny that that 
rpclaot&tion should come forth, and out it broke, 



making memorable January 1, 1863. Now, Sir, 
fight against this state paper as you may, it will 
stand. Saying nothing about its being a " mili- 
tary necessity," which most certainly it is, it is 
founded upon the principles of eternal justice, 
and it can not be moved. It is a rock upon which 
clamor will beat in vain. Take the matter calmly 
as possible, for the proclamation is destined to 
prevail. How passing strange that the Demo- 
cracy should still cling to slavery with such per- 
tinacity, in its dying struggles. 

Mr. Chairman : I am about to sit down, and 
have only a word or two more to add. I speak 
plainly and boldly. I represent a constituency 
of which I am proud, and they demand of me 
the performance of my duty. They stand on 
the rock of freedom. They are for the Union 
now and forever, "one and inseparable," and 
woe be unto me, politically, if I utter an nn- 
certain sound. I have heard the threatening 
language used on this floor, from time to time, 
with astonishment, but not with fear. They 
mistake me — they mistake my constituents if 
they expect to frighten us. I know the dread 
consequences of a conflict between the state and 
national government, and I know who will be 
responsible for it if it ever takes place. In the 
assembly chamber of the Empire State has been 
uttered language of the most incendiary charac- 
ter. It seems to me that attempts have been 
made to fire the embers of civil war within our 
limits and bring down upon our population all 
its attendant horrors. I tell these men to be- 
ware, lest they dash themselves against a rock 
that will break them in pieces. In that dark 
strife they invoke, even if successful, they will 
only be buried with others among the ruins. 
There is a determination among the masses to 
save our country which they have not fathomed, 
and they will not succeed, though they may de- 
sire to be the " architects of ruin." la times 
like these life is of no value only as it may be 
necessary to save our institutions, and before 
you accomplish your purpose you will have to 
trample over the dead bodies of more men than 
you now dream of Rather than the dark wing 
of slavery shall brood over the continent and 
dictate to us terms of dishonorable peace, there 
are millions that would perish in the last ditch. 
You may fancy that you have the support of the 
Executive of this state in your revolutionary, de- 
signs ; but in this you are destined to very great 
disappointment. Those venerable Democrats in 
this House who have disapjjrobated your pro- 
ceedings have doubtless more of his sympathy. 
Mr. Chairman, there is no true friend of his 
country that desires to outlive it. If everything 
dear belonging to home is to be destroyed, he 
wants to be buried among the ruins. He has 
no desire to see the flag of his country go down, 
the Union torn into fragments, and we, having 
become a reproach among the nations, be obliged 
to wander about, without a home or a country. 
But none of this is to take place. He who ruleth 
in the armies of Heaven and doeth His will upon 
the earth, will be our Protector. He never es- 
tablished this government on the western conti- 
nent to be blotted from the face of existence. 



12 



The threatening douds now hanging over us are 
to be dissipated by the dawn of brighter days. 
The fiTAU of freedom is to be in the ascendant. 
We shall pass throush the dreadful ordeal w« 
are now experiencing, purged of excrescences, 
purified in the crucible, and shine doubly re- 
splendent. The flag of our common country 
shall wave more glorious than ever ; our strength 



and our greatness increase in tenfold propor- 
tion, and no clanking chain other thin for crim< 
be heard in the land. The fetters that havr 
hitherto bound humanity shall be broken — thtl 
rod of the oppressor shall be powerless, ana 
over our entire country, North and South, Eat) 
and West, Freedom shall reign in undisput | 
empire. 



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